


Together we'll work through it

by Charizarrdo



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Banter, Birthday, Deuce trying to play wingman behind Ace's back, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28552413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charizarrdo/pseuds/Charizarrdo
Summary: All he wanted was for just a single moment of peace, to have a night to himself and just wallow in self-pity.But with a crew their size it seemed impossible to do just that. Especially when a certain commander feels the need to get involved and ruin his night.
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco & Portgas D. Ace, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace
Comments: 10
Kudos: 62





	Together we'll work through it

**Author's Note:**

> I am late to the party, but they say better late then never... right
> 
> Happy (late) birthday to the fire boy!!  
> This has taken me way too long to finish, but I made it... kinda x3

The air was thick, tumult and commotion echoed far as the sea stood in stark contrast. One would almost call it suspicious how eerie quiet the waves danced around the hull of the ship; for sailing in the New World brought nothing but uncertainty and trouble for any unskilled sailor. Yet for the last passing days nothing but peace and quiet had met their ways, not even a single attack or storm that threw them off course. All had been smooth sailing from island to island.

But the questioning silence of the waves was not the cause of chaos that grew within one’s heart. This originated from something far worse than the unsteady sailing one could experience out on sea.

A new beginning. That would be the saying when one calendar year meets its end and another takes its place. A time where others speak of self-improvement when the dawn of the new year starts, but never meet their own requirements along the way.

But those seen dancing around the Moby Dick have little to no qualms to any new year’s resolutions. The entire crew finds itself in an uproar as everyone is in high spirits. Batches of good rum are carried from the hold while others busy themselves with preparations on their very own show of fireworks. The men are merry, already drunk beyond comparison and spewing nothing but nonsense as they clear the deck for their biggest party of the year. Even the nurses seem more relaxed, having laid down their strict order of no alcohol on Pops—or maybe he granted it himself as this was a one time celebratory event for the ending of the current year.

And among the lively chaos that roamed the ship, one lonely soul had barricaded himself in a room. The comfort of the tiny porthole proved to be all the distraction he needed on this tumultuous day. He watched from behind the glass as the light reflected on the dark blue waves, creating a blurry image of the ongoing festivity on deck.

Not too long ago her was there, too. Joisting and dancing about, drinking however he liked and gorging down whatever food presented for the party. But today, the mere thought of food made his stomach churn. For once in his life he felt nauseous at the thought of eating.

How could he even think about food and parties when he was only minutes away from a day he wished had never existed; the day his mother died to give birth to him. If only he was never born, then his mother would still be alive, not death for the birth of a monster that should be undeserving of life. And yet, here he is. Alive and well. Called a son by nobody other than his father’s own rival and the man he had sworn to defeat.

No matter the self-hatred and loathing he could feel towards himself for becoming so weak, he couldn’t ignore the feelings that erupt from within him whenever he spends time with the crew. Nor can he pretend the love he feels is fake, that the brotherly bond they share is nothing if not genuine. He knows it all too well. Yet doubts turn their nasty heads in the darkest of times and make him question everything he felt.

The sound of rapid knocking broke through his thoughts. Left without a chance to decline the other’s presence, the door was kicked open. In came a familiar, fruit shaped man that strolled into the room as if it was his. A lazy smile dancing on his lips as a soft pink dusting covered his cheeks; the man was by all means pleasantly buzzed and the sight was enough to active a scowl on the other’s face.

“Ace, what you doing moping around here, yoi? The party’s up on deck and we’re one man short.” The blond drawled out and Ace saw the subtle shift in the man’s demeanor at the first look of his scowl. Good, Ace thought to himself.

He would love to tell the blond off, to tell him a lie so Ace could be alone again. To explain to the blond that he was a little under the weather and needed some rest, or maybe state how he has a bit of a stomachache—which in fact would not be a lie. But he knew that the first division commander would only fret about his health and personally send him to the infirmary.

Yet it did little to stop him, “Just a little tired, I guess. You can go on without me for tonight.” His lie was weak and as the man on his left hold his stare for longer than necessary, Ace knew his plan had failed. It was time for phase two, and that included his best charming smile which portrayed contentment, tiredness and the right amount of love to show the man he is _fine_.

But, Ace supposed, the man wouldn’t be first division commander and Whitebeard’s righthand-man for nothing if he hadn’t had the proper skill to see through bad lies. Or, maybe the man had just the right amount of knowledge on human psychology and Ace makes for a terrible liar.

“You look fine to me,” Marco smiled at him, a little too amused for his liking. “I can take you to the infirmary and run some tests, just to see if anything’s wrong, yoi. Yesterday you seemed healthy as ever, but if this links to your inconsistent falling asleep, we could check it out.”

At the mention of infirmary along with the word test, Ace shivered. Prodding and poking at his body wasn’t something he enjoyed as a kid, and right now he certainly wouldn’t be a fan of it. And Marco knew this. He was the one that kept telling Ace countless of times to get his injuries threated or head in for a check-up, but Ace kindly, not so kindly, declined every time. 

“I take that glare as an ‘everything’s fine’, yoi.” His laugh rumbled through the room as Ace shot him a more searing glare this time. One that would make most tuck their tail between their legs and hightail out of the room at the first glance, yet Marco lived dangerously as he claimed a spot on the bed for himself, purposely sitting closer to Ace than necessary.

“Can’t you just leave me be,” Ace grouched at the dumb smiling blonde before him.

“Not if our youngest brother decided to hole himself up in his room.”

Caught off guard by the term brother, Ace allowed his scowl to slip into a stunned look. It remained an odd feeling, being referred to as the little brother. So far Ace had only been the oldest brother and looked after his little brother Luffy, not for it to happen the other way around. And despite trying hard not to, he found it difficult to ignore the joyful burst in his heart at the thought. 

He did his best to stomp it down. He was undeserving of love, not from others, not after what he did.

In retaliation to the feelings he wasn’t sure on what to do with, he used the foot closest to the man’s thigh to land a solid kick. Lesson learned, Ace hoped as he saw the slight flinch in Marco.

Yet the man responded disinterested and even bored as his eyebrows quirked up in a lazy manner. His face showing no signs of discomfort but his eyes danced with amusement. Marco said nothing at all, not even gaining Ace the pleasure of a tiny grunt, nothing. He even decided all was well and reclined back against the wall as if it were _his room_.

And that would be the last Ace needed now. All he wanted was for just a single moment of peace, to have a night to himself and just wallow in self-pity. But with a crew their size it seemed impossible to do just that. Especially when a certain commander feels the need to get involved and ruin his night.

Annoyed by supposedly ‘older brother’ and his attempts to invade Ace’s private space, there had only been one solution fitting for his current problem; kicking and shoving the unwanted being until it would leave out if its own volition.

His feet began a barrage of attacks against the blond, either prodding his side or aiming to bruise on the man’s thighs. And when Marco still showed little to no response to the feet that kept pouncing on him, Ace altered his course for the face.

Unlike the kicking to the man’s side, trying to hit his face seemed way more effective as Marco finally acknowledged his efforts, however small that might be. With practiced ease Marco caught his booted foot before it made contact with his nose and threw him an unimpressed look. “Not a nice way to treat family, aye?” 

The grin on the man’s face as Ace struggled was quickly replaced when Ace managed to wiggle his foot out of his own boot. He wouldn’t let such a simple thing stop him from bullying Marco out of his room.

“I asked to be left alone, you leave me no choice,” Ace sighed exasperatedly, which turned into a groan when Marco counteracted by binding his ankles together in a tight grip.

“That might be so,” Marco hummed with a look that caught Ace off guard, “but isn’t it our duty to make you feel better, yoi.”

Momentarily his struggle had faltered and allowed Marco to let up his vice grip. This man had some form of weird psychic power, Ace was sure of that. Because no matter the situation, Marco would find a way to break through his well-built defenses. But now he had no time to linger on revelations like those, he would reserve them for some other time, when he has the luxury of figuring things out. Now however, Marco had let his guard down, and Ace would use that fact to his own favor. 

With a mighty pull he brought his legs up and with came an unbalanced Marco, who, for whatever reason it might be, still did not let go of his ankles. “No, it means you should leave me be,” Ace countered as he tried to tug his feet free.

“Ahh, no can do.” Marco shrugged lazily as he caught the first heading his way. “I think we are obliged to be annoying assholes and drag you into that, yoi.”

It was totally unfair how unaffected the man appeared. Even with his awkward position of sideways leaning against the wall while steadying himself on the bed with his arms and stopping the incoming attacks at his face, Marco seemed to have everything under control. So when both his legs and one of his fists find themselves stuck in Marco’s hold, Ace pulled with all his might.

The plan was flawless; pull just hard enough to make Marco lose his balance and let go of his legs, then grab a pillow to stuff his face. Simple, elegant and couldn’t not work. 

Yet what happened was anything but his plan. 

As a precautionary Ace put extra strength in his pull, because for all he believed Marco would not budge and thus his plan would fail. Instead, Marco came along nicely without any form of struggle. Which was the problem. His pull was greater than the force holding him back, and it caused for Marco to literally fly into him. And while he was shocked at the unplanned event, he wasn’t the only one.

Mere inches from his face he was greeted by a royal flush that spread on the older man’s cheeks. His eyes locked with Marco’s as he slowly became aware of the position they find themselves in; clinging to one another in an attempt to stabilize themselves. Yet Ace finds it hard to ignore the way he clutched Marco’s arms or how said arms are holding him gently. But if he tries hard enough it might all be a part of his imagination.

“Uhh,” was the only manageable sound that escaped his throat at their close proximity. This was _not_ what he planned should happen.

At the very least it appeared Marco would be the most coherent of the two of them and carefully sat up. His eyes promptly evaded Ace as he did so and the flush still claimed a good portion of the blonde’s face.

“Sorry,” they muttered at the same time. Their eyes meeting for a brief moment before laughter bursts out from both. 

“Glad to see you’re back to being you.” Marco snickered softly as he wiped at his eye. The flush has yet to leave the man and Ace couldn’t help but wonder just how much the man had been drinking to keep hanging onto it so vigorously. “You look more at ease when you’re smiling, yoi.”

Realization dawned upon Ace that he had been smiling and laughing all the way during their little banter. Marco had made him forget about the depressing thoughts that were eating him alive. Once again it had been Marco who helped him relax. It made his smile slip into frown that immediately caught Marco’s attention. 

He really must be worthless if he forgets about his own worries so easily when a simple smile is thrown his way. He is nothing but a waste.

“Was it alright for me to be born?” The words slipped past him before he could register what he said. Ace despised his mouth for speaking out of turn. He had kept all this tightly wound together in the depths of his heart, where nobody would find it and only shared with those he deemed worthy enough for such a burden. Marco was not one of those people. He could be, Ace silently wondered, but not now.

As Marco gave him worried looks and would likely try to comfort him, Ace interfered. “Never mind, that’s just… it doesn’t matter.” He needed to get out and fast.

Marco had different thoughts however, as he quickly reached out to hold Ace’s arm and keep him from walking out of the room. “I don’t know where that came from, and you don’t need to tell me. Just remember that everything; everyone, has a purpose in life, yoi. However small or insignificant that might seem, all of us are meant for something great we can’t see yet. You might not see yours or understand what it is, but it’s there. I’m sure of that. And we, all of us on the Moby Dick, are extremely happy to have you by our side, Ace. Your arrival brought us joy, your stupidity keeps us sharp and even those bullheaded battle tactics of yours are amusing to us, yoi.”

“You ask if it was alright for you to be born. And I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, but my answer is, _yes_! Without you my liv— our lives wouldn’t be as bright as they are today, yoi. You’re a beacon of something new Ace, I’m sure you’ll grow to accomplish amazing things.” Marco ended with a smile. And if Ace had been any more observant, he would have noticed the tiny slip up.

Instead he remained impassive and allowed the words to thoroughly sink in. And unlike his own expectations, it awakened something new within him. Warm and pleasant sensations spread from his toes to the tips of his fingers and he felt good; giddy and exited. For once he felt accepted, truly accepted by someone other than his own brothers. The kind of acceptance he had long since given up on.

Finding that the treatment of silence had taken long enough, Marco decided to do what he had originally came for. Swiftly he pushed himself off the bed and took Ace with him, guiding the lost soul towards the door and into the hallway. Any question on what was going on was promptly ignored as Marco lead them both further into the hallway.

“I have something you should see, yoi.” Sounded his answer after they almost left the comfort of beneath deck, only a stairway and door stood between them and their destination outside. 

It became clear to Ace where they were headed and the instant he found out, that was the moment he dug his heels into the wooden floor. “Marco, I said I didn’t want to party.” Yet the pulling did not falter and while Ace would love to use his powers to stop the man, he very much liked the fact there was a ship keeping him from freefalling into the ocean. 

“I think you should see this first. You’re going to like it, yoi.” Marco added with a wink when Ace opened his mouth to object.

Ace was not sure what exactly it was, but that smile; so soft and gentle, with practiced ease that Ace had only seen with Marco. He gave in. For reasons beyond him, he allowed the blond to take him up on deck. But maybe, if he thought about it a little better, he knew exactly why he went along without putting up a fight. 

The moment the door opened; Ace was greeted with the sight of the ongoing party. A well-known image engraved in his mind by now, yet this time it was different than before. An abundancy of decorations had flooded the deck, more than Ace had ever seen since his time with the crew. Of all the food that was displayed for the party, none of it matched that of their usual festivities. And for whatever reason it might be, a giant cake stood in the middle of the deck, just a head smaller than Pops who sat happily in his chair with his sake.

The more Ace looked around himself, the more he noticed the little things that seemed off. A major factor was that the crew wasn’t as drunk as he expected them to be, not even by a long shot. Everyone appeared lightly buzzed and pleasantly jovial with each other. 

In the confusion of the moment, Ace hadn’t registered Marco pulling him further on the deck. The moment he took notice was when the cake suddenly seemed to have grown in size.

“Marco, what is this?” Ace asked in total confusion. None of their earlier parties had gone like this, there had to be a very good reason for it.

Showing Ace his most disarming grin, Marco turned to him. “Hang on, you’ll see in…” his attention flickered to a small pocket watch he materialized out of nowhere, and whatever he saw on there must have been gold because the grin turned into a full blown smile. “… ten, nine…”

Every and all present crew on deck chorused in on the countdown, some screaming from the top of their lungs as the numbers reached closer to an end.

Torn between running away and continuing to mope as before and wanting to find out what this special celebration is for, Ace stayed on deck and watched intently as the crew count to zero. Just before the end he caught sight of Marco and threw him a questionable look.

“Three, two, one. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ACE!!”

Fireworks lit up the sky no sooner than the cheer left the men. Every one of his brothers came up to Ace with a celebration of their own, some even presenting a small gift that they pushed into his hands without hesitation. The candles on the cake were lit and only then did Ace see the beautifully written ‘happy birthday Ace’ on the side.

Ace felt, for the most part, confused; lost and even surprised. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling in this moment and allowed this wave of emotions to wash over him. 

It was only after a multitude of congratulations, gifts and pats on his back that Ace found himself before Marco again.

“Happy birthday, Ace.” Marco smiled at him, more loving than any smile he had even seen from the man. But his focus was not on that right now, even though he loved the sight of it.

“Wha—what… how? I never told you anything.” His mind might be racing and his thoughts are disordered, but he thanks the gods for sounding this unaffected and calm.

Blue orbs that stared into his own broke contact as Marco gazed out into the night, watching the stars disappear behind the few grey clouds that painted the sky. And for a moment, Ace swore the flush on the man’s cheeks had once again gained a deeper pink.

“Well,” he begun nervously, “someone might’ve let that one slip and I might’ve caught up on it, yoi.” 

There was only one person aboard this ship that knew and Ace immediately begun to scout him out of the crowd, but while doing so he missed the relief that flooded over Marco. His search paid of quickly as the culprit immediately took shelter behind Whitebeard’s leg.

Ace glared at the blue-haired man, but even he knew it was nothing but a lousy threat, if anything. Quite opposite to what he had expected, Ace enjoyed the attention—even if it was overwhelming at some point. But hearing the men congratulate him and joke around made him feel at ease; appreciated and loved even.

“He knows I don’t want to celebrate it,” Ace grouched out to the sheepish looking blond beside him.

“Believe me, he told me countless times yoi.”

Ace turned to meet Deuce’s gaze, who looked a little anxious but despite the situation send him a thumbs up. The sigh that left him amused Marco as he softly chuckled to the sullen looking ravenette. “Don’t be too hard on him, he wants nothing but the best for you, y’know.”

And despite the slight annoyance that crept up on him, Ace was alright. With Marco’s comforting words in his mind, he felt liberated from the annual gloomy husk that appeared on this very day. He felt lively and free, wanting nothing more than to celebrate it with those around him. And that was exactly what he did.

“Come on,” Ace laughed cheekily as he pulled a bewildered Marco along. For one had the man’s face turned into an open book and the confusion was clear as day. “I wanna see if I can brighten your world even more.”

It was fair to say that Ace very much did enjoy the flush that claimed Marco’s face. And he wasn’t the only one that shared this sentiment as the rest of the crew eagerly grabbed on the blushing Marco scenario. They can’t be blamed, Ace mused, not when Marco usually remains fairly composed.

Only as the night progressed into morning and rum had clouded everyone’s judgement, did the teasing stop. Only then Marco was allowed some moments of peace with Ace.

  


— **O** — 

  


**Bonus**

"It wasn't that bad, now was it?" Deuce asked the grumpy man before him. Ever since last night's party he had forced his way into the Deuce's room and refused to leave.

"You did this in purpose, I just know it." Ace accused the blue-haired man who at least had the decency to look like a puppy caught with his head in the cookie jar. 

"I did no…" Deuce started offended before backpaddling when Ace narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I might have had something to do with that, yes."

"You're unbelievable," Ace groaned as his face fell into a pillow that did not belong to him.

"As a first mate and all, I probably wouldn't have bothered. But as a friend, I very much like it if you'd stop bothering me about every hot man you see and wish to bang." Deuce stated in a tone that was far too calm. "So I did the one thing that would bring you two together and leave me out of everything."

"But we didn't even—"

"NO! I don't want to know that!"

"But…"

"NO! No, no, no! I really don't need to know. I will go now and when I return that pillow best be without any of your drool, Ace." Deuce warned the man in his bed that made himself more comfortable as soon as the door closed. He'll just throw out the pillow, then Deuce can't complain.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea had actually been stuck since the beginning of December, but only hours till new year did I have the inspiration to write it xD
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it!! Let me know what you think :3


End file.
